Knot magick is magick that incorporates tying knots in various types of material. Tying a knot, along with visualization, can be a very powerful form of magick. The knot can be used to "hold" a spell within it until the results have come about, to ensure that the power will not dissipate until you are ready for it to.
If you cannot Spin Thread, try to use cord that is a natural as possible. You can also use an oil (see wort-cunning) on it that corresponds to your purpose. Then, tie this around the shaft of a candle. Three knots have always seemed to work best as it deals with the past, present and future. These are the spheres/planes that change is made.
Use a candle to represent the element of fire. Fire has been used by our ancestors in celebrations and ceremonies of old - whether it be the Yule Log, the Need-Fire, etc.
With each knot, visualize a rune. Chant and I blow softly as you tie. This is done three times.
As the candle burns, the flame consumes and releases your desire.
Below is a basic chant for the three knots.
By knot of two, it cometh true.
By knot of three, so shall it be!"
White
is considered to denote purity. It can be used for all knot magick.
Pink
is used for love. You could use the GIFU rune and tie six knots or two x's three. The combination of two peoples energy. You could tie this to a rose bush. Rose being the symbol of love. I would ask for help from Freya. I personally would be looking for a rose bush without thorns. Or maybe to a Birch tree. Call to Sif for balance and a harmony in a new relationship.
Red
is the color of passion. It can be the passion of war or lust.
Green
is the color of growth. It can be used for money, plants or pregnancy. I would tie 4 knots as 4 is considered a lucky number (4 leaf clover) and it is considered the number of creation ~ it took 4 dwarves/elements to make Brisingamen. Four is also a number given for a good foundation. All buildings have four corners -- this is how they stand. I would use the rune Fehu and call to Freyr or Freya.
Black
is considered to be the absence or void of any or all coloring. It does not reflect or emit any vibration or color of its own. It has the ability to absorb any energy. Whether this is bad or negative energy sent to you, or energy that you put into it, to send to another. Like magick itself, you must decide what type of energy you will use. This color is used for banishing-- whether it is a hex, or a bad habit. It is used to remove or encase (as in bindings) undesirable influences. Use this color to remove obstacles from your path.
Purple
is the color of sovereignty or royalty and dignity. It can be used for success and for personal empowerment.
Take cotton yarn in the appropriate color of the problem (green for money, red for love, etc) and pour out your fears and problems in to the yarn. Tie it up in knots to symbolize how "tied-up" you feel. Take it outside and let the wind blow it away along with your negativity. Go back inside and take a ritual bath or shower cleansing.
copyright Diana Rajchel 1998
I call this Dark Magick, which may alarm a few people, but to me I see it as another step towards mental health. All people have a shadow self, a side of themselves they don't like and emotional issues that the dark self hangs on to that "Light" self doesn't want anymore. In the interests of avoiding stagnation, I invented this rite as a way of letting go of all past anger.
To Let Go of Past Relationships
All you need for this is a cord, a cauldron and some matches.
Cast Circle
Quarter Calls:
Hail to the spirits of the east
Join me here for parting feast
Hail spirits of the south
Partake this ending with fiery mouth
Hail spirits of the west
I end this here, let me be blessed
Hail spirits of the north
I have need of thy burial; I call thee forth
Pause here, and knot the cord around your waste - one knot of each
relationship you want to be free of.
Invocation:
Plouton, god of good fortune, god of death
I ask thy presence and thy boon
You see these bonds around my waist
that I shall be breaking soon
Carry these energies back to Hades
Give them a place in the land of the dead
After a moment's reflection or an offering to Plouton, contemplate each knot one at a time. Visualize a particular relationship remember it as vividly as possible and say exactly why you want to be free of it. Untie the knot. Say, "I am free of you and all the ways you have harmed me. I am that much happier." Go on to the next knot.
Once finished, take the cord and either burn it in the cauldron or bury it. Over the cord at disposal say: Plouton, as these connections are removed from my life Let their power over me wane to nothing Take what's left of them with you to the underworld I have had from them what I can learn
Cakes and wine (this is a great time for chocolate).
Say goodbye and thank you to Plouton
Close the quarters
Open the circle
A Destructive Knot Spell
If there is a situation, problem, possible menace you are facing, there is a knot spell for this.
Take the cord and firmly visualize the problem in all its agonizing detail. Become emotional about it; seethe with anger, crumble into tears, whatever works.
Then firmly tie the knot.
Walk away from it, out of the room if possible. Take a shower, eat, do whatever will get your mind off the spell and allow you to relax.
When your emotions are stabilized return to the knot. With calm and peace untie the knot. See the problem vanishing; dissolving into a dust that is swept away by the cleansing, refreshing North wind.
It is done.
Rana
(to ensure it's return)
***Taken from "Earth, Air, Fire and Water" by Scott Cunningham
Those of us who study the old ways of natural magick are usually fond of books. Our fondness often leads us to loan them to friends. Unfortunately, loaning a book may mean that we'll never see it again.
Hence, this book binding spell. It utilizes knot magick. Binding and knots are ruled by the element of Earth.
In natural magick, knots are physical objects that both represent intangible goals (such as the return of loaned property) and absorb personal power. The following spell utilizes the power of the knot in this way.
(This spell isn't intended to force or to coerce another human being to return a book; it's a spell to ensure the book's return. It doesn't affect the loanee, it affects the book itself.)
Before you loan the book, hold it between your palms. Send personal power into it while saying:
"By hill and wind,
by flame and brook,
by shining moon and sea;
I place a bind
upon this book
that it return to me."
Wrap one foot of plain white cotton string around the book, securing the string with a knot. Knot tightly, but leave enough slack so that you can slip off the string without untying the knot. As you make the knot, visualize the book returning to you, and say once again:
"By hill and wind,
by flame and brook,
by shining moon and sea;
I place a bind
upon this book
that it return to me."
Slip off the knotted cord. Put in some secret place. As you actually loan the book, say the words again (even under your breath). The book should, indeed, return to you. Once it has, untie or cut the cord. It's done it's work.
Nicholas Hall
(From the book: Chaos & Hexenzauber, Bohmeier Verlag, 1993, ISBN 3-89094-266-0)
(Translated by Karl Lembke)
The origins of knot magic and cord magic are not clear. Knot magick has been practiced in various ways as part of an overall system of magic in northern European lands.
It appears that there was both a craft of knot making and one other important factor. The knots were bound with a magic (spoken) charm, that had to be uttered.
The first example of knot magic will show how one can bind (or banish) various illnesses such as the flu or bad colds into the knots, thus healing them. One can apply this charm for oneself or for a sick friend.
In preparation, take a cord about 8 inches (20 centimeters) long and mark it six times with chalk to divide it into seven equal lengths. Lay it down in front of you and begin humming (droning, buzzing and/or chanting) to still your spirit. [In other words, ground and center.] When you feel ready, recite the following incantation six times. With each repetition, tie a knot on each spot where you've made a chalk mark.
Sickness, no one bids you stay.
It's time for you to fade away.
Into these knots I bid you leave.
By these words which I do weave.
After you have recited these incantations, you should have six knots in your cord. Now take it and throw it in a container filled with salt. Then write the incantation on a piece of paper and use it to seal the container. The incantation will now begin the process of healing the body and restoring strength to the spirit. Six knots are tied because six is the number of the sun, to which is ascribed regenerative power. Incantations were often recited in a rhythmic fashion to induce a trance-like state, which aids in these sendings.
Six is the number of the sun in cabalistic lore. In other systems, the sun has been assigned various other numbers, with one being the most popular. Presumably, spells intended to invoke the power of other planets would use the cabalistic numbers assigned to those planets, e.g., nine for the moon, three for Saturn, and so on.
In the following spell, the practitioner will be tying only one knot. Use the same length of cord as before. This spell is used to sow discord between two friends. Again, take a cord and make a chalk mark in the middle. Place it in front of you and visualize the two people embroiled in a heated argument. As soon as the visualization begins to fade, recite the following chant:
I tie this knot by mine own hand.
Your friendship will disappear.
Nothing but discord will you see,
And in fury your separate ways you'll go.
Nothing can help you still your rage,
Until I untie this knot again.
When you have uttered the last word, tie the knot. The last line refers to the twisted tail of an animal or the intricate plot of a novel.
I don't use curses myself unless they're very, very, very well deserved. I also am reluctant to release curses into a forum where anyone can read them and try them out. But then I'm also reluctant to lie about the contents of a document that I'm purporting to be rendering an honest translation of. Please regard this above example as a curiosity only.
The following separate aspect of knot magic shows one how you can break a major curse on yourself. Before you attempt this, you must first know something of the nature of the curse and how it was formulated. To find this out, you can carry out a divination. If your suspicions are correct, and the divination confirms your fears and give you hints as to how the curse was formulated, then you are not paranoid. A useful divination method for this case is throwing three runes out of a bag. If the divination confirms that you are cursed, then you can proceed. This incantation is so conceived that it combats a witch's bottle, used to make you fall seriously ill.
Take a piece of string and bury it for three days. This imitates the burial of the bottle and the battle to unearth the bottle. When you have the string out of the earth, hold it before you and place a bottle on the floor. Then recite the following:
A curse on me you buried deep,
To make me sick, you evil creep.
I place a knot into this twine,
And so your work was worked in vain!
[I guess part of the magic depends on the ability to utter line two with a straight face.]
On reciting the last word of the incantation, make a single knot in the string and shatter the bottle with your foot. The curse will then be released.
The above examples of knot magic and associated incantations give only a brief glimpse of the possibilities of this type of magic.
Generously copied and sent by Guus Goos
Translated by Karl Lembke
